


First Steps

by Aithilin



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, M/M, mer-May short, merfolk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 18:38:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14721464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aithilin/pseuds/Aithilin
Summary: Noctis needs a reward system to take his first steps on land.





	First Steps

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JazzRaft](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JazzRaft/gifts).



When the kingdom was no longer safe— the depths of Lucis, the ancient ruins of Insomnia crumbled into the sea— there were very few choices afforded to them. There were the havens of foreign coasts: Altissia and Galahd, with their long stretches of secluded beaches and ancient alliances not yet touched by the Imperial presence. There were the old bloodlines in Tenebrae who could offer shelter to the Lucian castaways, the refugees driven from their cities that had already been touched by the ancient magics that that separated Lucis from its neighbours. 

The Tidemother would bid them to Altissia, where her power ebbed and flowed with the waves, but infiltrated every salted stone and waterlogged city. Bismarck would have them seek out the Oracle’s line, where forgotten power could slip over them like the foams left by a boats’ wake. Siren would draw them to the rocky shores of Galahd, where they could lure enemies into better defences. 

Instead, they had a loyalty to the lands they haven't walked for a thousand years. 

“Be careful of the sharp edges,” Ignis said from the shores of Cape Caem. 

Noctis had never been one to shed his tail. Not like his father. Not like Cor or Ignis or Gladio, wandering into land when they had the urge to explore. He preferred the open movement and the freedom of the open water— of forgetting which way led to the sky, and which darkness was a cloudy night and which was the depths of the ocean. He had never been one to want to explore the old kingdom, the lands half sunk by Leviathan when her magics took his people to protect them. When she decided to end the ancient war for the Crystal by simply taking it and its guardians herself. 

The last time he had been on land had been when he was young and hurt and taken to Tenebrae. Now, he didn't have his father’s assured hold to guide him from tail to feet. He didn't have the same curiosity as before— the awe of the trees and kingdoms, and the foreign magic.

The rocks cut as he pulled himself up. 

The plan had been to hide on land until the searches stopped. The Crystal moved to safer waters, the king with it. The idea had been to let them acclimatize to the land again, to ward off the Imperial searches where they could. To hide in plain sight on land. 

Ignis held out his hands, offering support as Noctis let the magic around him shimmer and change and shed itself. 

Gladio had already set them up on the edge of the Cape, where the lighthouse rose against the dark sky. The old base of their landfall reduced to a dock sheltered in a cave, opened to the waters but nearly impossible to see and navigate. Unless, like Noctis, one bad played there in childhood. 

“I know, Iggy.”

He took the offered support from his companion, let himself be pulled up to the half-rotted wood of the dock. Cor had assured them it was safe here, that there were supplies and clothes and all the things they'd need to accomplish their missions of turning the Imperial eye away from the waters. 

Noctis already missed the water. 

Ignis smiled and kissed his forehead, fetched a towel and the clothing that he was meant to wear. “You’ll get the hang of it, Noct.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He already envied Ignis’ easy movements and confident steps. His own new legs felt useless and light, with none of the power that had been in his tail. None of the muscle or magic. He wanted to go home. 

He didn’t fuss as Ignis helped dress him like a human. Or as he was hauled up to shaking legs, and balanced against his taller friend. “How are you so good at this already?”

“I've had an extra day, Noct. Now, small steps. Come on.”

“No, I think I prefer this way.” 

Pressed against Ignis, he offered a cheeky grin. Hummed with pleasure as it earned him a kiss. But Ignis pulled away, and forced Noctis to either let himself fall or start the small, strange movements that would let him keep up. 

“Shall I bribe you to actually walk?”

“Yes,” a few shuffled steps, stiff and alien movements. Ignis stepped further away, but kept a sure hold on his hands. “I could have been in Altissia with dad right now.”

“Or Galahd, or Tenebrae, or in a Niflheim net. Do concentrate, Noctis.”

“Kiss me.”

“Once you've managed the stairs.”

“Stairs?!”


End file.
